Article denesting and dispensing apparatus



Se t. 17, 1963 LE ROY F. CARKHUFF 3,

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 13, 1961 7Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LeRoy Carkhuff ATTOH N I E'Y Sept. 17, 1963 LEROY F. CARKHUFF 3,104,029

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS FiledDec. 13. 1961 7Sheets-Sheet 2 LeRoy Carkhuff BY KARL (L).:FLOCK ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1963LE ROY F. CARKHUFF 3,104,029

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 13, 1961 7Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR LeRoy Car/(huff KARL (1). FLocKs -b ATTORNEY Set. 17, 1963 LE ROY F. CARKHUFF 3,104,029

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec.13. 1961 INVENTOR Roy Carkhuff KARL. (.0. :FLOCC ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1963LE ROY F. CARKHUFF 3, 4,

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec.13. 1961 INVENTOR KARL (U. FLoc KS ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1963 LE ROY F.CARKHUFF 3,104,029

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 13, 1961 7Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR LeRoy Carkhuff ATTORNEY BY KQRL (Ll-FLoccs Sept.17, 1963 LE ROY F. CARKHUFF 3,1 4,

ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS FiledDec. 15, 1961 v 7Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. /5

INVENTOR LeRoy Carkhuff KQQL L1). FLOCCQ ATTORNEY United States Patent3,104,029 ARTICLE DENESTING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS lLeRoy F. Carkhuif,Morris, Ill., assignor to Diamond National Corporation, New York, N.Y.,a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 159,097 11Claims. (Cl. 221236) This invention relates generally to dispensingapparatus and more particularly to apparatus particularly adapted fordenesting or removing a lowermost article from a vertical stack ofnested articles, such as egg cartons or the like, from a hopper orchute. 7

With the advent of automation, particularly in the packing art, cartons,such as egg cartons or the like, must be automatically dispensed throughautomatic packing equipment; see, for example, United States LettersPatent to Momma No. 2,895,274. Folded paperboard cartons are preferredby certain packers for various reasons; however, others prefer moldedpulp nested cartons. Nested molded pulp egg cartons generally include arelatively rough inner surface which, although providing a goodcushioning surface for the eggs that are packed therein, frictionallyresists separation of nested cartons.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide novel dispensingor denesting apparatus for readily and positively dispensing articlesone-by-one from a vertical gravity supported stack of such articles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide, in denestingapparatus of the character involved, vertically movable articletransport means movable from a carton-receiving position at the lowerend of the vertical path of travel of a stack of nested cartons in chutemeans and to a release position for dispensing the carton for use inmanual or automated packing systems or the like.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the subject inevntionwill become apparent from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the novel denester or dispensingapparatus with portions broken away for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the plane of line2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on the plane of line 33of FIG. 2, showing the transport assembly and gripper means thereofadjacent the lower end of the chute means just before the lowermostarticle in the chute means is engaged by the gripping means;

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. '3, showing the gripping means engagedon the lowermost carton in the chute means;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4, showing the transportassembly approaching its lowermost position wherein the lowermost cartonremoved from the chute means is stripped from the gripping means to beconveyed away from the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragmentary portion of thegripping means of the transport assembly;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one of thedisplaceable support assemblies disposed at opposite sides of the lowerend of the chute means;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially on the planeof line 88 of FIGS. 3 and 5, showing the manner in which the nestedstack of articles is supported in the chute means of the apparatus priorto and after the lowermost carton is removed from the stack;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical section, similar to FIG. 8, and takensubstantially on the plane of line 99 of FIG. 4, and showing the mannerin which the support 2 lip elements of the carton support mechanism isdisposed when the gripping means of the apparatus engages the lowermostcarton of a nested stack;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the support lipelements of the mechanism disclosed in FIGS. 7-9;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic side elevation illustrating the manner inwhich the transport assembly and gripping means are moved with respectto control cam elements for the displaceable jaw of the gripping means;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 illustrating the manner in whichthe displaceable jaw is opened at its lowermost position for release ofa carton engaged thereby and moved to a position to be conveyed awayfrom the apparatus, and illustrating graphically the condition of thedisplaceable jaw during a cycle of movement of the article transport andthe gripping means;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the control lever controllinga cycle of engagement of the clutch mechanism utilized in the powermeans of the apparatus;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of the mounting bracket for thecontrol mechanism of the displaceable carton support lip means;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary vertical section, similar to FIG. 3, showing analternate embodiment of another article support assembly used in theinvention;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken substantiallyon the plane of line 1616 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a view similar .to FIG. 16, showing the position of a cartonflange gripping device in the position assumed as a lowermost carton isbeing removed from a vertical stack of cartons in the apparatus; and

FIG. 18 is a rear elevational view looking substantially from the planeof line 1818 of FIG. 16, portions being removed and shown in section forpurposes of clarity.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first considering FIGS. 1 and2, the novel denester or dispensing apparatus is indicated generally at10 and comprises a support frame member 12 including verticallyextending, inclined chute means 14 having at the lower end thereofopposed article support assemblies 16 which are mirror images of eachother. Supported in the frame member 12 is an article transport assembly18 including article gripping means 20, and article conveying means 22cooperating with article stripping means 24. Disposed in the rearportion of the support frame member 12 is suitable power means 26 forproviding the necessary diving force to the various components of theapparatus.

Briefly describing the function of the apparatus in the absence ofspecific structural details, a stack of nested articles, such as moldedpulp egg cartons, which are difficult to separate, are disposed in theinclined chute means 14 and are supported by the assemblies 16 asubstantial distance above the separator means 24 and conveying means22. The assembly 16 will positively orient the lowermost article of anested stack in relation to vertical movement of the transport assembly:18 which is driven by the power means 26, and the gripping jaw meanswill be controlled to snap into engagement with the lowermost article ofthe nested stack when adjacent the lower portion of the chute means 14and will subsequently be opened when disposed adjacent the strippermeans 24 for removal of the article by the conveyor means 22.

The support frame 12 includes a lower support portion 28 which, ifpreferred, may have depending wheel assemblies 3t and 32 at theforwardcorners thereof and a rear depending support stand 34. Extendinghorizontally from opposite sides of the support frame member 12 andintermediately thereof is a rear support plate 36, intermediate supportplate 38, and forward support straps or plates 40, 42, and 44, see FIGS.2 and 3, for example.

The support frame member 12 includes a pair of vertically extending,mutually parallel and substantially triagular support side walls orplates 46 and 48 which have extending vertically therebetween andterminating at an intermediate portion thereof the vertically extendingand rearwardly inclined chute means 14. The chute means 14 is suitablysupported between the side plates 46 and 48 and comprises a back platemember 50 which, if preferred, Will have elongated strips of frictionincreasing material 52 fixed thereon, and includes a pair of forwardlyextending side plates 52 and 54 between which the end portions of astack of nested articles will be guidingly disposed.

Cartons of the character especially adapted for use on denesting ordispensing apparatus of the character involved herein are thosedescribed in detail in United States Letters Patent to Reifers No.2,990,094 issued June 27, 1961. Additionally, car-tons which incorporaterelatively elongated vertically extending posts for engaging theundersurface of a carton lid are also adapted for use on the subjectapparatus. In these latter cartons, the relatively elongated narrowposts have a tendency to firmly nest and thus positive force is neededto separate adjacent nested cartons C. The egg cartons of the characterin volved and disclosed in this exemplary embodiment are usuallyidentified as 2 x 6 wherein the cartons include two rows of six adjacentcells formed by depending cell forming structure, as indicated at c inFIGS. 1, 3 and 9-10, for example, the cells being bordered by aperipheral flange 1 including an intermediate indentation i. Theadjacent rows of cells, as seen in FIG. 3, for example, have extendinginwardly therebetween a groove g for accommodating orienting structureof the gripping means 22, as will subsequently be described in detail.

Referring to the power means 26 and FIG. 2, the support plate 36 hasmounted thereon an electricimotor 56 having a forwardly extendingtransmission 58 connected by a laterally extending power-output shaft 60to a clutch mechanism 62, which will not be described in detail. Theclutch mechanism is urged toward engagement by a compression spring 64and includes a drive spur gear 66. Projecting rearwardly is an operatinglever 68 which will engage upon a rearwardly displaceable stop-lever 70projecting vertically from a support shaft 72 journaled on a transversesleeve 74 mounted on a support bracket 76 mounted on the plate 36. Theother end 78 of the shaft 72 has fixed thereto an upwardly extendinglever 86 which may be manually or mechanically displaced rearwardly forthe purpose of causing operation of the clutch mechanism 62 andcounterclockwise rotation of the spur gear 66, as indicateddiagrammatically in FIGS. 11 and 12. As seen in FIGS. 11-13, the lowerend of the lever 70 as indicated at 82 is connected at 84 to a tensionspring 86 anchored at 88 to a rear undersurface portion of the supportplate 36. When the lever 70, is moved out of the path of travel of theactuating lever 68 of the clutch mechanism 62, as shown in FIG. 12, thedrive gear 66 will make two complete revolutions and permit the articletransport assembly to move through one complete cycle of upward anddownward movement, as illustrated in FIG. 12 and as will subsequently bedescribed in detail below. The lever 80, in addition to being operatedmanually, may be operated by means of a suitable solenoid control or thelike (not shown), for the purpose of accommodating the denesting ordispensing apparatus in automation systems.

Extending transversely between the side plates 46 and 48 and journaledtherein at opposite ends is a drive shaft 90 which includes thereon adriven spur gear 92 meshingly engaged with the driving spur gear 66.Fixed on the shaft 90, adjacent the inner surface of the side plate 48,is a mounting hub 94 of a radially extending lever 96 including anabutment wheel 98 thereon. As the shaft 90 is caused to rotate in aclockwise direction, as

indicated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the abutment roller 98 will engage theundersurface of the lever for maintaining the lever 76 out of engagementWith the actuating lever 68 of the clutch mechanism 62. Thus, thedriving gear 66 will be caused to have 720 of rotation for each onesingle revolution of the driven gear 92 to afford one cycle ofmovementto the article transport assembly 20, as indicated diagrammatically inFIG. 12.

Fixed on the drive shaft 90, inwardly of the inner surface of supportplate 46, is a drive sprocket 100 which has entrained thereabout anendless link chain 102. Journaled transversely between the supportplates 46 and 48, at the forward end 104 of the support frame 12, is atransverse support shaft 106 which has fixed thereon spaced frictionwheels 108 and 110 comprising the conveyor means 22. of the apparatus.The wheels 108 and 110 will have a friction increasing material on theouter peripheral surface for engaging the outer surface of the lid of acarton C, see FIG. 5, for rapidly moving the carton away from thestripping means 24. The shaft 106 has secured thereon, inwardly of theinner surface of the plate 46, a driven sprocket 112 having about a 1:4tooth ratio with respect to the driving sprocket 100 and the link chain102 is entrained thereover.

As seen in FIG. 1, a suitable idler wheel 114 may be fixed by a mountingstrap 116 on the inner surface of the support plate 46 for maintainingthe proper tension in the drive chain 102. As the wheel 100 is roatatedwith the drive shaft 90, the shaft 106 will rotate at an appreciablygreater speed to afford ready removal of the segregated articles orcartons from the stripper mechanism 24, as will subsequently bedescribed in detail.

On the drive shaft 90, which defines the pivot axis for the verticallymovable or oscillatory article transport assembly 18, are bearingsleeves 1:18 and 120 of forwardly extending, flat support arms 122 and124, respectively. The arms 122 and 124 include intermediate verticallyextending plate portions 126 and 128 to which is secured a transverselydisposed spacing rod 130. As seen in FIG. 2, the rod 130 is disposedabove the transverse support plate 38 extending between the side plates46 and 48.

Secured to the upper surface of the support plate 38 are a pair ofspaced bearing brackets 132 and 134 which have journaled therein asupport or timing shaft 136 parallel to the drive shaft 90. Fixed to oneend of the shaft 136, in meshed engagement with the driven gear 92, is aspur gear 138 which will afford counterclockwise rotation of the shaft130 as the gear 92 is rotated by the driving gear 66 when driven throughthe clutch mechanism 62.

Extending laterally from the outer surface of the gear 138 is a radiallydisposed pivot pin 140 upon which is journaled the lower end 142 of anadjustable connecting link 144, the other end of the link beingjournaled on the previously described shaft 130, as indicated at 146.Fixed to the other end of the shaft 136 by a hub or sleeve 148 is aradially extending lever 150 having extending laterally therefrom apivot pin 152 disposed in coaxial relation with the pivot pin 140. Thepivot pin 152 has journaled thereon one end 154 of a second adjustableconnecting link 156 journaled at its other end at 158 on the rod 130.

As the gears 66, 92 and 138 are simultaneously rotated, it being notedthat the gears 92 and 138 have a 1:1 tooth ratio, the article transportassembly 18 with the article gripping means 20 will be oscillated aboutthe pivot axis defined by the shaft 90 through the positions illustratedin FIGS. 3-5 and 11 and 12. The oscillatory movement will carry thegripping means 20 to a position immediately beneath the opposed articlesupport assemblies 16 at the lower portion of the chute means 14 which.defines a vertical path of travel for the nested stack of cartons C.Additionally, the assembly 20 will move in its vertical path of travelbelow the stripper means 24; see FIG. 5, for the purpose of disposing asegregated car- 5 ton on the stripping means structure for engagement bythe conveying means wheels 108, previously mentioned.

The gripping means 20 includes a fixed gripping bar or jaw 160 and adisplaceable or oscillatory jaw 162, each of the jaws extendingtransversely in spaced relationship between the inner surface portionsof the support arms 122 and 124, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 6. The fixed jaw160 comprises a transverse support plate 164 suitably secured on opposedunder edge portions of the support arms 122 and 124 adjacent theterminal ends of the support arms. Fixed to the upper surface of thesupport plate 164 in suitably threaded apertures therein are spacershims 166 which extend the length of the support plate 164 and whichhave mounted thereon relatively thin gripper blades 168 which haverearwardly facing, serrated or sharpened tooth portions 170. The blades168 are retained on the spacer shims 1-66 by means of machine screws 172which extend vertically through vertically extending, triangular-shapedblock elements 174 which generally conform to the groove portion gbetween adjacent rows of cells of the lowermost carton C disposed in thechute means, see, for example, FIGS. 3 and 4. When the triangularlyshaped elements 174 are disposed in the groove g, the teeth 170 of theblades 168 will be disposed slightly above the lower surface of thecells 0 located adjacent the lock fla l of a carton C; see FIG. 9, forexample.

The displaceable or oscillatory gripping jaw 162 includes a transverselydisposed support bar 176 having fixed to the undersurface thereof, bymeans of nut and bolt assemblies 178, transversely extending grippingblades 180 which include at their forward edge serrated tooth portions182 opposed to the teeth 170 of the blades 168. The blades v180 haveextending therethrough transverse slot portions 184 through which thebolts of the nut and bolt assemblies .178 extend, for permitting theblades 180 to be adjusted toward and away from the blades 168,

for accommodating diiferent cell widths therebetween. The support bar176 includes upwardly extending support ear elements 186 and 188 whichhave extending laterally and outwardly therefrom trunnion or pivot pinelements 190 and 192, respectively. The trunnion or pivot pin elements190 and 192 are respectively journaled in suitable aperture portions ofthe support arms 122 and 124, as most clearly as seen in FIG. 2. The pin190 has fixed adjacent the terminal end thereof, and exteriorly of thesupport arm 128, a radially extending lever 194 having journaled to theterminal end thereof on a laterally extending support shaft 196 acam-engaging roller element 198. Secured to the upper end of the lever194 in any suitable manner is one end of a tension spring 200, the otherend of which being fixed to an inwardly extending pin 202 on the innersurface of the support arm 124. Fixed to and projecting angularly fromthe inner surface of the support arm 124, by means of machine screws204, is an L-shaped abutment bracket 206 which includes an outwardlyprojecting leg portion 208 in alignment with and disposed in the path oftravel of the lever 194. The bracket 206 includes longitudinallyextending slots 210 through which the machine screws 204 extend foradjusting the position of the abutment leg 208 with respect to the lever194. The tension spring 200 normally urges the support bar 176 andblades 180 thereon in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS.36, and the abutment leg 208 orients the blades 180 into substantiallycoplanar relationship with the blade-$168 of the fixed gripper jaw 160.

Fixed on the inner surface of the side plate 48 is a lower camming bar212 which includes an upper, rearwardly inclined camming edge 214engageable with the roller element 198 for rotating the lever 194 andblades 180 therewith rearwardly or toward an open position, as seen inFIGS. and 12. The camming edge 214 is disposed in the path of verticaloscillation of the article transport assembly 18 and, as indicateddiagrammati- 6 cally in FIG. 12 and shown in FIG. 5, will be effectiveto open the gripping means 20 for releasing a carton C at the strippingmeans 24. However, during upward movement of the article transportassembly 18, the tension spring 208 will be effective to maintain thegripping means 20 closed. It will be observed, during an intermediateportion of travel of the transport assembly 18, the jaws are closed andwhen the gripping means 20 approaches the upper end of travel of thetransport assembly, the jaws will be open to engage the lowermost cartonsupported in the chute means.

The opening of the gripping means jaw 162 adjacent the upper portion oftravel is afior ded by a displaceable cam element 216 supported on alateral pivot axis 218 formed by a suitable pivot pin element extendingthrough the side plate 48. The displaceable cam element 216 has securedthereto, in spaced relation from the pivot axis 218, one end 220 of anupwardly extending tension spring 222 which is secured at its other end224 on the inner surface of the support plate 48. The support plate 48has projecting inwardly therefrom and in the pivotal path of thedisplaceable cam element 216- an abutment pin 226 which limitscounterclockwise movement of the displaceable cam element 216, as seenin FIGS. 35, which is constantly subject to tension of the spring 222.Additionally, the displaceable cam element 216 includes a forward,substantially vertical camming edge 228 which is disposed in the path oftravel of the roller element 198 which opens the displaceable jaw 162 ofthe gripping means 20. Upward movement of the article transport assembly18, as shown in FIG. 3, results in the abutment roller 198 engaging thecam edge 228 of the displaceable cam element 216 to cause the jaw 162 tobe moved rearwardly away from the fixed jaw 160. When this occurs, thetension of spring 200 is overcome, it being observed that this spring isnormally imposing tension on the lever 196 to urge the jaw 162 toward aclosed position.

Continued upward movement of the transport assembly 118 to the positionshown in FIG. 4 results in the abutment roller 1% engaging on the upperedge 230 of the displaceable cam element 216. When this occurs, thetension spring 200 is of sufficient strength to overcome the tension ofspring 222, and the displaceable cam element 216 is moved to theposition shown in FIG. 4 for engagement with an abutment block 231 onthe inner surface of side wall 48. When the roller 198 moves onto theedge 230 of the displaceable cam element 216, the displaceable jaw 162will snap into engagement with the side of the cell c opposite that sideat which the blade 168 is disposed. When this occurs, the gripping jawswill be firmly set on the lower end of the cells to permit the lowermostcarton C to be withdrawn from its tightly nested condition and betransported down toward the stripping means 24. As previously mentioned,as the transport assembly 18 moves downwardly toward the stripping means24, the abutment roller 198 will engage the lower cam edge 214 and thejaws will be opened to permit removal of the carton being transported,see FIG. 5.

=The stripping means 24 comprises a first vertically extending plate 232having a lower angular foot portion 234 fixed to the support strip orbar 40 by means of suitable fasteners 236. The plate 232 includes arearwardly extending angular guide portion 238 engageable by the lockflap 1 of a carton being removed from the nested stack to guide thecarton forwardly and downwardly toward the friction Wheels of theconveying means 22. The vertical plate 232 is disposed rearwardly of thepath of travel of the displaceable blade 266 of the gripping means 20,see FIG. 5, and terminates inwardly of the support arms .122 and 124, asseen in FIG. 2.

Disposed in parallel relationship to the stripper plate 232 is a secondvertically extending stripper plate 240 having a lower angular footportion 242 secured to the support bar 42 by means of suitable fasteners244. The

stripper plate 240 includes a forwardly extending flange or ledgeportion 246 which will engage the undersurface of the cell c which isgripped between the jaws 160 and 162. The plates 232 and 234 are sospaced to permit the displaceable jaw 162 to pass downwardlytherebetween.

The stripping means 24 includes a third stripper plate 248 including alower foot portion 250 secured on the support bar 44 by means ofsuitable fasteners 252. The vertical plate 248 is spaced from the plate240 to permit the fixed jaw 160 of the gripping means to movetherebelow, as seen in FIG. 5, and includes a forwardly and downwardlyextending upper plate portion 254 which will receive the lid of asegregated carton thereon. It will be noted that the outer periphery ofthe friction wheels 108 of the conveying means 22 extend slightly abovethe upper surface of the plate 254 to engage the outersurface of the lidof a carton being dispensed. Further, the plate 254 continues in adownwardly extending portion 256 which also extends beneath the outerperiphery of the friction wheels 108 and 110.

It will be noted, as previously mentioned above, that when the jaws 160,162 engage the lowermost portion of the lowest carton to be separated,that they are firmly set on the lower end of the cells of the carton. Asseen in FIG. 5, although the displaceable jaw 162 will pivot away fromthe jaw 160 prior to the jaws moving beneath or between the plates ofthe stripper means 24, the sharpened teeth of the jaws may be embeddedin the separated carton.

In order to make certain that a separated carton is not retained on theteeth of the jaws 160, 162, these jaws move between the plates 232, 240,and 248 so that the cartons are stripped from the jaw teeth tofacilitate ready removal of the cartons by the friction wheels 108 and110.

Engagement of the lock flap l of a segregated carton provides a slightspring pressure against the angular plate portion 238 when the grippingmeans 20 is moved downwardly toward the position shown in FIG. 5. Thisslight spring pressure aids to urge the separated cartons onto thefriction wheels 108 and 110 which move the released cartons from theapparatus. It will be recalled that the conveying or friction wheels 108and 110 are moving at a relatively high speed and accordingly will movethe cartons rapidly away from the dispensing apparatus.

The article support assemblies 16 disposed at opposite sides of thevertical path of travel of the nested stack of cartons in the chutemeans 14 function to support the articles in the chute means, and whenthe article transport assembly 18 attains the position shown in FIG. 4,these assemblies 16 will have the function of releasing support lipelements from beneath the vertical stack of cartons, and simultaneouslyapplying an inward end pressure at opposite ends of the lowermostcartons of the nested stack to provide a good firm base against whichthe gripping means will abut in order to insure proper orientation ofthe gripping jaws 160 and 162. The aforementioned functions of theassemblies 16 are caused to occur in timed relationship to movement ofthe article transport assembly 18 during the cycle of travel illustratedin FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, the drive shaft 90 has adj-ustably secured thereon,by means of a hub portion 258, a radially projecting abutment lever 260.Journaled on the shaft 136 for free rotation with respect to this shaftis a hub or sleeve 262 which includes at one end a radially projectingarm or actuating lever 264 having secured to the terminal end thereof,by means of a transverse shaft 266, an abutment roller 268 disposed inthe path of travel of the abutment lever 260. Projecting from the otherend of the sleeve 262 is a lever 270, the terminal end 272 of whichprojects beneath the shaft 90 and has bearing blocks 274 of any suitablematerial secured thereon for engaging the undersurface of the shaft 90while the same is rotating. Iournaled on a transverse pivot pin 276forwardly of bearing blocks 274 are the lower ends 278 and 280 ofvertically extending connecting rods 282 and 284, respec- 8 tively,which provide the force transmitting means for the assemblies 16, seeFIG. 14. Each of the assemblies 16 is the functional equivalent of theother, and accordingly only one will be described in detail.

The angular relationship of the abutment lever 260 will be adjusted sothat the abutment roller 268 is engaged when the gripping means 20 is inthe position shown in FIG. 3. Continued rotation of the abutment lever260 from the position shown in FIG. 3 to that of FIG. 4, indicates therange of rotation in which the abutment lever 260 is effective to causethe lever 264 and connecting links 282 and 284 to be moved downwardlyfor the purpose of operating and affording the functions mentioned withrespect to the assemblies 16.

The assemblies 16 each include a tubular support or hearing sleeve 286disposed substantially normal to the inclined path of travel defined bythe back wall 50 of the chute means 14. The bearing sleeve 286 ismounted on an apertured mounting block 288 secured on the inner surfaceof the side walls or support plates 46 and 48, as seen in FIG. 1, forexample. Extending through and rotatable in the bearing sleeves 286 is asupport shaft 290 which has fixed to the rear end thereof, see FIG. 7, amounting hub 292 of an L-shaped lever 293 which includes an elongatedinwardly extending leg 294 and a depending leg 296. The legs 296 of eachof the L-shaped levers are terminally apertured and receive oppositeends of an elongated tension spring 300 which tends to urge theelongated legs 294 upwardly and toward the inner surfaces of the sidewalls 46 and 48. The elongated legs 294- of the L-shaped levers aretransversely apertured and receive therethrough a pivot pin or nut andbolt assembly 302 which pivotally engages the apertured upper end of thepreviously mentioned connecting links or rods 282 and 284. Since theabutment lever 270 includes an elongated terminal end portion. extendingbeneath the drive shaft 90, the tension spring 300 will provide aconstant biasing pressure on the short legs or levers 296, but theelongated legs 294 will be normally maintained in a substantiallyhorizontal position, as clearly seen in FIG. 1, for example.

. The shaft 290 includes on its forward end 304 spaced mounting sleeveportion 306 of a depending support plate 308 which has mounted on thelower end thereof by means of mounting screws 310 one side flangeportion 312 of an L-shaped supporting lip element including an inwardlyextending triangular shaped support ledge or lip 314. Suitable shims 315are provided to adjust for different carton lengths. The apex portion316 of the support lip 314 will be received between the adjacent rows ofcells 0 beneath the flange f of the lowermost carton in the nested stackof cartons supported in the chute means, see FIG. 10. It will be notedthat the flange 312 includes a pair of elongated transverse slots 318which will permit the L-shaped support lip element to be adjusted forproper orientation with respect to the flanges f of the cartons to beseparated and dispensed.

It will be apparent that when the elongated levers 294 are moveddownwardly, as indicated by the direction arrow in FIG. 7, caused by theengagement of the abutment lever 260 with the abutment roller 268 on thelever 264, see FIG. 4, the support plate 308 will be moved from theposition shown in FIG. 8 to that shown in FIG. 9. This movement iscaused by virtue of rotation of the shaft 290 integral with the L-shapedlever 290 including legs 294 and 296 against the force of the tensionspring 300. The support lip 314 will move back to the position shown inFIG. 8 after the lowermost carton has been removed from the nested stackof cartons by the article transport assembly 18.

Projecting vertically from the support sleeve 286 is a mounting block320 which has projecting forwardly therefrom and fixedly securedthereto, in parallel relationship to the shaft 290', a support shaft322. Fixed on the shaft 322 and retained thereon by means of deformablelock washers 324 in overlying relationship with respect to support plate3%, is a U-shaped, downwardly opening support bracket 326 which hashin'gedly mount ed on a transverse support shaft 328 which extendsthrough depending side flanges thereof, transversely apertured mountingear portions 330 of a depending friction plate 332 which has a roughenedinner surface for en gaging the ends of the lowermost nested cartons inthe chute means.

The friction plate 332 includes on the outer surface thereof an abutmentblock element 334 which is engageable on a roller element 336, journaledfor free rotation on the support shaft 290. The U-shaped support bracketelement 326 includes an outwardly extending, trans versely aperturedmounted strap 333 which has pivotally connected thereto a dependingforce transmitting link 340. The mounting sleeve 306 secured to theouter surface of the support plate 308 includes a radially projectinglever portion 342 to which the lower end of the force transmitting linkis pivotally connected at 344.

When the shaft 290 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as previouslymentioned, the lever 342, through the link 3449, which cause the bracket326 to move upwardly, as shown in FIG. 9. When this occurs, the frictionplate 332 will move downwardly and the abutment element 334 will engagethe roller 336, causing the plate 332 to move inwardly in frictionalgripping relationship with the lowermost nested cartons in the chutemeans. This function occurs when the support lip 314 moves outwardly tothe position shown in FIG. 9 and, at the same time, the gripping means21), i.e., the fixed and movable jaws 169 and 162, will be in theposition shown in FIG. 4 to grippingly engage the lowermost carton C.

As previously mentioned, there is a predetermined time interval duringthe rotation of the shaft 90 when the abut ment lever 260 operativelyengages the lever 264 which actuates simultaneous respective inward andoutward movement of the friction plate 332 and support plate 338 andsupport lip 314. During this time interval, the gripping means 20 willhave star-ted to move down, and when it moves a sufficient distance, thetension spring 3110 will forceably urge the support lips 314 between theupper surface of the lowermost carton which is gripped by the grippingmeans 20 and the lip 314 will extend beneath the peripheral flange ofthe next adjacent carton thereabove.

Referring to FIGS. 15-18, an alternate embodimefii of an article supportassembly is indicated generally at 16, and is operated by means of thepreviously described structure causing oscillation of shaft 296. Thearticle gripping means 20 functions in substantially the same manner aspreviously described, and all of the various cooperating components areidentified in these figures by means of similar reference characterspreviously used.

The article support assemblies 16' are disposed in the same manner asthe article support assemblies 16, pre viously described, andaccordingly only one will be de scribed in detail. The shaft 2% hasfixed :on the forward end 304 thereof a depending support plate 408.Depending from the support plate 408 and retained on the inner surfacethereof by means of nut and bolt assemblies 410 is a resilientplate-like gripping element 411 including a plurality of verticallyspaced support lip portions 414 forming therebetween inwardly openingflange-receiving notches 415.

Fixed on the inner surface of the side plates 46, 48, only plate 48being shown, is an L-shaped abutment bracket 418 which includes aninwardly-directed flange portion 420' having a horizontally adjustableabutment plate 422 which engages the outer surface of the resilientgripping element 411 adjacent the lowermost lip portion 414'.

A vertical stack of nested cartons is normally disposed in the positionand condition mentioned with respect to the previously describedembodiment. When the gripping means 20, which includes the jaws 160 and162, engage the lowermost cells 0 of the cartons disposed in theapparatus, the shaft 290 will rotate clockwise from the position shownin FIG. 16 to that shown in FIG. 17. This movement occurs over the rangeof rotation caused to the shaft 290 due to engagement of the abutmentlever 260 with the actuating lever 264, as previously described. Thisresults in the resilient abutment element 411 assuming an outwardly bentcurved shape, as seen in FIG. 17, which permits the stack of cantons tobe moved downwardly away from the assembly 16', it being noted that theassembly 20 prevents the cartons from falling out of the chute means.

The position of the resilient elements 411, shown in FIG. 17, ismaintained until the lowermost carton is pulled below the lowermostabutment lip pontion 414'. When this occurs, the resilient grippingelement 41 1 will rapidly snap back into the position shown in FIG. =16,and when this occurs, those nested cartons disposed above the lowermostcarton being removed will be fixedly maintained in the inclined chute ofthe apparatus.

If necessary, the apparatus may have extending forwardly from the lowerend of the chute means 14 a support frame 430 which will include atransverse bar 432, shown in section in FIG. 15, having a depending,inwardly extending resilient finger 434 which will displaceably engagethe lowermost carton cover, as seen in FIG. 15.

Operation A vertically disposed stack of nested cartons, such as eggcartons, is disposed in the chute means 14 and is supported thereinagainst vertical descent by the article support assemblies I16, i.e.,the underlying support lips 314.

The motor 56 is constantly operating; however, the clutch mechanism 62is disengaged by virtue of the engagement of the actuating lever 68 withthe abutment lever 70. The spring 64 tends to urge the clutch andmechanism into engagement. Leftward or rearward movement of actuatinglever results in engagement of the clutch mechanism 62 and rotation ofthe drive gear 66, see FIGS. 11 and 12. The drive gear 66 is permittedto rotate two complete revolutions due to the abutment roller 98maintaining the lever 80 and abutment lever 70 in the position shown inFIG. 12 during the first complete revolution of the drive gear 66.Counterclockwise rotation of the drive gear 66 causes clockwise rotationof the meshing spur gear 92. This causes rotation of the drive shaft andoscillation of the article transport assembly 18 as illustrateddiagrammatically in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The gripping means 20 is moved from an open position adjacent theuppermost portion of its stroke or cycle to a closed intermediateposition and back to an open posi tion adjacent the stripping means 24.This function is afforded by the camming edge 214 and displaceable camelement 216 sequentially engaging the roller 198 and causing thedisplaceable gripping jaw 162 to pivot about the support trunnions orshaft element 190.

The cycle or stroke of the article transport assembly, i.e., rotation ofthe shaft 90, causes the abutment lever 2264) to engage the abutmentroller 268 on the lever 264 mounted on the shaft 136. When thisengagement occurs, forces transmitted through the connecting links 282,284 cause outward movement of the support lips 314 and downward andinward movement of the friction plates 332 which retains the lowermostcarton in a substantially fixed position to be gripped by the grippingjaws 162. The plates 332 will permit the lowermost carton to bewithdrawn from the next adjacent carton upon which the gripping jaws160', 162 are engaged.

Referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 15l8, the assemblies 16', whichinclude the resilient pads having a plurality of vertically spacedflange engaging lips and grooves receiving the flanges f of thelowermost cartons therein, will function in the same manner as thesupport assemblies 16 including the inwardly extending support lips 3-14and friction plates 332. The lips 414 supporting the flanges f, aspreviously mentioned, are deformable to permit a lowermost carton to bewithdrawn from the bottom of the stack of nested cartons disposed in theinclined chute means. The lower portion of the resilient pads is fixedagainst outward displacement by the inwardly extending flanges 422 ofthe angle elements 418. When the shaft 290 from which the support plate408 carrying the resilient pads 411 rotates clockwise due to engagementof the abutment lever 260 with the lever 264, as previously described,the upper portion of the resilient pad will be urged outwardly. Whenthis occurs, the article transport assembly 18 and the gripping means 20will be in a posit-ion to firmly engage the lowermost carton cells.Downward movement of the gripping means and article transport assemblywill result in the stripping off of the lowermost carton and, at thesame time, the resilient pads are rapidly urged inwardly to firmlyengage those cartons disposed above the lowermost carton.

After the lowermost carton is stripped from the nested stack, and theshaft 290 returns to its normal position, the upper portion of theresilient pads will move inwardly toward the vertical path of travel ofthe chute means to retain the cartons in the chute means.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and,therefore, the invention is not to be limited to what is shown in thedrawings and described inthe specification but only as indicated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Dispensing apparatus for removing articles one-byone from the lowerportion of a vertical nested stack comprising a support frame,vertically extending chute means defining a vertical path of travel forreceiving and through which a vertically disposed stack of nestedarticles will be dispensed, article support means on said support frameadjacent the lower end of said chute means and including opposed supportlip portions projecting laterally into said vertical path of travel andbeing displaceably mounted for lateral movement with respect to saidvertical path of travel, an article transport assembly pivotally mountedfor vertical oscillation on said support frame rearwardly of the lowerend of said chute means and movable between a position adjacent thelowermost portion of said vertical path of travel and an article-releaseposition therebelow, power means on said support frame, drive meansconnected to said article transport assembly for oscillating the same ina cycle of vertical oscillation, said article transport means comprisinggripping means including a pair of spaced gripping jaws extendingtransversely beneath said chute means and displaceably supported withrespect to each other, means norm-ally biasing said gripping jaws towarda closed position, and means sequentially activating said gripping jawscomprising vertically spaced jaw-operating cam means disposed in thepath of travel of said gripping means and engageable with one of saidgripping jaws for openin said jaws adjacent the lower end of said chutemeans to grip a lower article, and subsequently opening said jawsadjacent the lowermost portion of travel thereof for permitting removalof an article from between said jaws.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including arti. cle strippingmeans on said support frame below said chute means and intermediately ofthe path of travel of said article gripping means for aiding to removean article therefrom as the gripping means moves to its lowermostposition, and conveying means forwardly of said stripping means andoperatively connected to said power means for engaging and expressing anarticle deposited on said stripping means.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claiml including force transmitting meansoperatively connected between said power means and said support lipportions for moving said lip portions outwardly with respect to saidvertical path of travel when said gripping jaws are in their uppermostposition whereby the weight of said stacks of articles is imposed onsaid transport assembly.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said lip portions aremovable away from said vertical path of travel, and pressure meansextendable into said path of travel simultaneously as said lip portionsare moved therefrom for applying end pressure on the lowermost articlesin said nested stack when the gripping means of said article transportassembly is disposed adjacent the lower end of said chute means. i

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lip portions areoscillatable laterally away from said vertical path of travel, pressuremeans extendable into said vertical path of travel adjacent the lowerend of said chute means as said lip portions are moved laterallytherefrom, and drive means between said power means, lip portions andpressure means for simultaneously operating the same.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lip portions comprisedeformable abutment elements projecting toward each other into saidvertical path of travel.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said dcformable elementsinclude a plurality of vertically spaced lip portions for abuttinglyengaging overlying edge portions of the flanges of the lowermost nestedarticles in said chute means, and mechanically actuatedforce-transmitting means synchronized in movement with respect to saidarticle transport assembly and said article gripping means and connectedto said deformable elements for displacing an upper portion of saiddeformable elements inwardly and outwardly with respect to said verticalpath of travel to permit additional articles to move the lowermostposition in said chute means and to permit articles to be removedtherefrom.

8. Dispensing apparatus for a vertical stack of nested articles to bedispensed one-by-one comprising a support frame, vertically extendingchute means defining a vertical path of travel for a vertically disposedstack of nested articles, said chute means terminating intermediately ofsaid support frame, a pair of opposed article support means adjacent thelower end of said chute means and including mechanically-operated,laterally-displaceable lip portions movable relative to said verticalpath of travel of said chute means, a vertically oscillatable articletransport assembly pivotally mounted on said support frame rearwardlyand beneath the lower end of said chute means, said article transportassembly including a pair of elongated, parallel article-gripping jawsextending transversely beneath the lower end of said chute means, atleast one of said gripping jaws being displaceable with respect to theother for grippingly and releasably engaging the lowermost article insaid chute means, article stripping means on said support frame beneaththe lower end of said chute means and intermediately of the path oftravel of said gripping jaws for receiving said gripping jawstherebeneath, mechanically operated conveying means forwardly of saidstripping means for frictionally engaging and expressing an articlestripped away from said stripping means, and power means on said supportframe operatively connected to said mechanically-operated lip portions,said article transport assemblyand said conveying means for operatingthe same.

9. The structure as set forth in claim 8 wherein said article transportassembly comprises a pair of elongated arms disposed inwardly of saidsupport frame, said gripping jaws being mounted on said support arms,said one gripping jaw being pivot-ally mounted on said arms andincluding an actuating lever extending radially from the 13 pivotalsupport thereof, and vertically spaced earn means on said support framesequentially engageable with said actuating arm for moving said pivotaljaw with respect to said other jaw during the upper and lower extremepositions of travel of said article transport means.

10. The structure of claim 9 wherein said mechanically-operated,laterally-displaceable lip portions include depending plate-elementsmounted on an axis of oscilation adjacent opposite sides of said chutemeans, said power means comprising a driven shaft connected to verti- 10cally reeiproca ble link portions ope-natively connected to said supportarms, a drive shaft disposed parallel to said driven shaft and drivinglyconnected thereto, levers operatively connected to said plate-elements,spring means extending between said levers for urging the plate-elementsinto said vertical path of travel, and a radial projecting abutmentlever on said driving shaft periodically displacing said l-ast mentionedlevers for periodically operating said plate-elements.

11. The structure of claim 10 in which said plateeleme-nts have mountedthereon pressure plates oscillat- 14 able into said vertical path oftravel, and force transmitting links connected between said plateelements and pressure plate for moving the pressure plate downwardly andinwardly into said vertical path of travel as said plate elements aremoved outwardly therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS637,316 Woodland Nov. 21, 1899 1,093,976 Claussen Apr. 21, 19141,472,584 Carle Oct. 30, 1923 1,722,048 Hill July 23, 1929 1,990,148'Ievander Feb. 5, 1935 2,325,164 Goodwin July 27, 1943 2,655,272 McClureet a1. Oct. 13, 1953 2,954,900 Bruoaker Oct. 4, 1960 OTHER REFERENCESGermany (application) 1,034,011, printed July 10, 1958, K1. 54f 2/30.

8. DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR A VERTICAL STACK OF NESTED ARTICLES TO BE DISPENSED ONE-BY-ONE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FRAME, VERTICALLY EXTENDING CHUTE MEANS DEFINING A VERTICAL PATH OF TRAVEL FOR A VERTICALLY DISPOSED STACK OF NESTED ARTICLES, SAID CHUTE MEANS TERMINATING INTERMEDIATELY OF SAID SUPPORT FRAME, A PAIR OF OPPOSED ARTICLE SUPPORT MEANS ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS AND INCLUDING MECHANICALLY-OPERATED, LATERALLY-DISPLACEABLE LIP PORTIONS MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID VERTICAL PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, A VERTICALLY OSCILLATABLE ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME REARWARDLY AND BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELONGATED, PARALLEL ARTICLE-GRIPPING JAWS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID GRIPPING JAWS BEING DISPLACEABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER FOR GRIPPINGLY AND RELEASABLY ENGAGING THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE IN SAID CHUTE MEANS, ARTICLE STRIPPING MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS AND INTERMEDIATELY OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID GRIPPING JAWS FOR RECEIVING SAID GRIPPING JAWS THEREBENEATH, MECHANICALLY OPERATED CONVEYING MEANS FORWARDLY OF SAID STRIPPING MEANS FOR FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING AND EXPRESSING AN ARTICLE STRIPPED AWAY FROM SAID STRIPPING MEANS, AND POWER MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID MECHANICALLY-OPERATED LIP PORTIONS, SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY AND SAID CONVEYING MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME. 